Has anyone grown micro-greens indoors? Help, I need advice!

Okay. I could spend a lot of money at a certain website where they sell spouts and also micro-green stuff. However, I have phoned them 3 times and sent 2 emails and they never answer - and one of their sprouting products someone was saying it kept getting very moldy.

So - I am wondering - can I just do this without spending massive amounts of money for fancy do dads made of plastic ) and some kind of trays and have a go on the cheap?

Could anyone wiser than me point me in the right direction or give me a pat on the back?
I want to grow lettuce type plants, grass type plants (I have a kitty) and I think clover.
I can't eat brocolli, kale or any of those types of plants.

I know where I can buy organic dandelion seeds, clover seeds, and I think some of the grass. The grass really wouldn't be micro-greens. Do you think any seed you would grow regular lettuce, etc, would work for micro-greens?

Then I need to decide whether to use soil, and if so is organic any better, or you can buy coconut mat or similar and grow without soil. It just seems mean to the plants to grow them without soil somehow. Like they would be starving. :( Also I can buy worm castings.

Then do I get plastic containers, or something else, like pots or stainless steel trays for growing?

If you have ANY idea about any of this I would LOVE to hear from you.
ps, I AM new, I don't know why it says I'm not!



This message was edited Oct 29, 2014 12:26 PM

This message was edited Oct 29, 2014 4:48 PM

OK, paros, Here's my take on things you mention, as your telling us your new, I would calm way down, the aggression and anger I pick up from your question is really unhelpful, I personally don't take any interest in the type of horticulture you are attempting and can only suggest you perhaps get in touch with a university or collage where they may be able to point you in the right direction.

Yes you can always do without spending a lot of money on any project IF there is a safer or cheaper way to do things and this is where some scholar on the subject would be more valuable that anything else. As you are new to the Dave's Garden site, then maybe do a search for the topic your needing help with as IF there is no forum for that, then someone might be able to give you the right searching advice. there are a whole list of the many forums here on Dave's, on the home page, look under Forums and see if there's anything to help.

At the moment you appear to be full of contradiction's like saying you could get trays and organic seeds, there is a huge amount of companies who trade in organic garden stuff, also you could set up your own wormery, it's not difficult and you have a constant supply of the stuff once it's set up, you just feed the worms all your kitchen waste.

I would use the normal trays everyone uses for growing seeds or plants in, there is a wide selection available in how deep and wide, some are without drainage holes while other have the holes. Stainless Steel sounds like an expensive luxury you can well do without and depending on what you need it for, maybe you can use good old kitchen foil we use for roasting, I use it for lot's of things I need in my greenhouse, such as use for reflecting light onto seed trays in winter when the light is low. it also keeps heat in or out depending on the task needed for.

Anyway, hope there are others who can help you out better than I have done and always remember that help is available here on Daves BUT if not, you can be steered in another direction
like local environment offices or local collage / university for further help to poinbt you in the right direction.

Good luck and Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

What do you mean about aggression? Where was I aggressive? Where was I angry?

I searched for a micro-green forum before I posted this.

Can you explain how I am "contradicting" myself? I am merely offering different possibilities of different growing techniques. How is that a contradiction?

I said nothing inappropriate in my post-
"I was wondering..."
"Could anyone wiser than me point me in the right direction"
"Then I need to decide whether to use soil, and if so is organic any better..."
"I would LOVE to hear from you. "

I've done nothing "angry" and nothing "unhelpful". You are the one who has accused me of this.
I know exactly who I am and I've done nothing wrong or inappropriate.


This message was edited Oct 30, 2014 12:50 PM

Paros, I preface this by saying that I know nothing about grow microgreens, etc, but googled and found these, among other sites:

wheatgrasskits.com
they have seeds as well as seed trays, and I noticed they have an "information" tab on their home page with instructional videos and more. You probably could find similar/others on youtube as well. They also have growing "kits" that are all you need, so you could see what they are suggestion you need along with the how to videos and maybe purchase the basic items near home. I thought their "flat rate of $5 shipping" was pretty reasonable as well.

http://mvseeds.com/store/categories/Microgreens/
sells products including seed and also has 3 instructional videos on this page

My mother used to grow alfalfa sprouts, you'd wet the seeds and she had plastic trays with no soil but they had ridges that they sprouted in

I suspect that a little trial and error and you'll figure out what works for you pretty fast. It's like tomatoes (only faster)...you can grow your own, you just have to figure out if you want to buy what you need and put the time into caring for them until they are edible :o)
Good luck, and come back and let us know how it worked out!

I think I would look into aquaponics for this.
Bit of work to set it up, but then you have endless possible plants to grow:
Micro greens
Full sized greens (Lettuce, spinach... including fancy kinds)
Many varieties of Basil and several other herbs
Watercress

A friend of mine set up several shelves with lights under each to provide light for the plants under it. I am not sure what substrate she used, could have been coir, or it could have been some special clay balls that are made specifically for aquaponics. Try it both ways, see what works best.
The lowest shelf held the tank of water. You could add the worm castings in here to enrich the water. Like compost tea.
At set times through the day the water was pumped up into the trays of plants, and allowed to drain back into the main tank.

VERY high productivity in a small area, since the shelves are one above the other, she got 9 square feet of growing space in 3 square feet of her house.

Just came in from Petsmart for my kitties, and so you know I heard no aggression, panic maybe, chuckl. At the petstore I saw a waterer that has a place to plant 'catgrass' in- oats - and they sold the organic seeds as well!
Microgreens can be small sizes of many types of seeds, legumes, (alfalfa,beans, ) turnip,collard,spinach, mustards, and they do well with lighting help and in the winter -heat pads. Sprouting them out of the dirt helps clean them before eating, but if you want tender 3" leaves, dirt would help. These eggshells I took a needle and poked a hole in the bottom, then I water the bottle cap bottom from the bottom, these mustard seeds are exactly 3 days old since i sprinkled them on the dirt in the full moon and where I live it's still 80° every day. They can have alliums- onions, dill, anything you wish them to sprout! When they get bigger I will stick the whole eggshell in the garden (maybe crack it a bit) and let them continue growing. Does that help?

I am just starting gardening, but I have been sprouting broccoli, kale and wheatgrass before, so I don't have a lot of experience but here are my 2 cents. Personally I don't feel it's that hard, it's all about following the right procedures and getting right tools which are cheap.

If you check out the website SproutPeople they have plenty of info and instructions on how to sprout different type of seeds, and there are instructions on YouTube as well. They have starter kit to get you started. For me the most important tool for sprouting is a sprouting jar, which is a mason jar and with a strainer lid. This will be required for soaking the seeds overnight and letting the roots develop. When you do dump the water from the seed jar, use it to water your plant instead of down the sink, since it will contain good nutrients. It's also good to have your own water filter for this purpose instead of using tap water or from plastic bottles. You can make sprout trays yourself, just find some sort of left over plastic or aluminum table pan and make sure they have drainage holes, and a bigger tray to hold the sprout trays and excess water. I don't know if it is unhealthy to use aluminum table pan, so someone can chime in on that. I do not use aluminum foil, but my family uses these pan for baking and they feel more durable, so I reuses them. Just be very careful you don't cut yourself since these aluminum pan are very sharp when torn.

I personally find coconut coir to be the perfect seeds starter material, but you can't use it straight up if you want good results, so mix with other soil amendments for nutrients. I like to add fine compost, worm casting and/or liquid kelp fertilizer.

Mold is a problem that I have to deal with, and it seem more of a problem with the humidity in Florida especially since I leave my sprout trays in my enclosed patio, and simply put newspaper on top of the trays to keep out sunlight. But maybe if you sprout them in a room with some kind of humidifier control and good sanitation it would help prevent mold. Making a spray from a small amount of vinegar or baking soda mixed with water are a good way to help prevent mold, the former lower pH and the latter raises it, you should be very careful with the amount you use or you will absolutely kill your plants (I found out the hard way). Though I personally avoid conventional baking soda brands and stick with Bob's Redmill or WholeFoods, this is just my personal preference though.

A side story. Before starting gardening, I started sprouting wheatgrass. And I was so excited to juice it for the first time. It turned out to be the worse thing I ever tasted. But I learned that there are many variety of wheatgrass and how you grow them also influence the taste, they don't need to be exposed to sunlight for very long before harvesting to turn green. But juicing them with other sweet fruits like grapes, lemon/lime or orange greatly improve the taste.

This message was edited Dec 16, 2014 10:39 AM

One thing that's very quick and easy to grow is microgreens. You can grow these nutritious greens year around in very little space. How? By planting them in pie plates and other small containers.

I use clear plastic produce boxes and tin pie plates. Aluminum pie plates will work as well; however, the tin pie plates are heavier and more substantial. For health reasons, I prefer not to use aluminum containers and utensils, but I occasionally make an exception for projects like this. Plastic take-out dishes work well, and some styrofoam containers are also useful for this purpose. If you are using a container without holes, you will need to poke enough small holes in the bottom to allow for good drainage.

Moisten enough potting soil to fill your container, but don't over-saturate the soil. Put the soil into the container and lightly press it down. Next, sprinkle your seeds on top of the soil and cover with a thin layer of moistened vermiculite. Some seeds you might like to try include: arugula, basil, broccoli, beets, chard, celery, cress, creasy greens, mustard, bok choi, tatsoi, radish.

Cover your container with a clear plastic lid like the ones that come on numerous items from the grocery store and place it near a bright window out of direct sunlight. Grow lights and plant heating mats can be used and may help speed germination. Containers can often be stacked to provide additional vertical growing space.

To prevent diseases like damping-off, spray the container daily with strong Chamomile tea at room temperature. Don't flood or over-saturate the contents of the container.

Once the greens have sprouted and formed the second set of leaves, they are ready to be harvested. The best time to harvest microgreens is about ten days to two weeks after planting or when they've developed the first set of true leaves.

To harvest your microgreens, cut them just above soil level. You won't be able to get additional harvests from one planting of microgreen seeds. However, you can plant another crop by simply removing some of the vermiculite and scattering fresh seed on top of the soil. Cover the seeds with another thin layer of vermiculite. You need not be concerned about removing the old roots as they will decompose and release nutrients back into the soil.

At least this is what I do. :)

Personally find coconut coir to be the perfect seeds starter as well. I have been just getting my microgreens delivered to my house monthly. i know growing them is cheaper and great but i like to have sprouts around all the time. i have tried different website for microgreen delivery.

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I might be able to help if anyone else reads this.
I have been growing microgreens for a few years now and you can certainly grow many microgreens without spending much money at all, especially cat grass! It's one of our favourites and our cats love it.

The only thing you need to buy is the seeds, these can be oats, wheat, or barley. Personally, we use a mixture of all 3. A lot of times your local Dollar Store will have a packet or two cheaply at this time of year (Spring), other than that you will be able to find a store nearby or online that will sell in the quantity you want. Amazon is a good choice also.

Next, you will need something to grow in. This can literally be anything. We grow in full 1020 trays, but we have also reused any old container that we have to hand. Little pots like margarine tubs are ideal. If you can get two of them, then make holes in one to act as your top tray, and the other one as your bottom tray. The idea is you will want to bottom water these if possible. If you only have one tray, that is fine too. You will just have to be a little bit careful with watering. Water gently down the side and don't over sturate.

Once you have your pot, fill it nearly to the top with potting soil, pretty much anything will work because they don't spend too much time in it. With a spray bottle soak the soil, but not so much the water starts to pool. The idea here is to get the soil nice and damp during the germination period.

Next sprinkle on your chosen seeds, you can usually put more on than you think. Use something to gently push the seeds into the soil. The idea here is to make the seeds have lots of contact with the soil. Once you have firmly pushed them down, water them again with the spray bottle and make sure to wet all the seeds. Lastly, cover them with a thin layer of soil. This will help with mold.

The seeds will germinate better with a weight on top of them, but generally, as long as they are covered (a cloth will work) they will be fine. The trick here is to not peek for the next few days. After 4 or 5 days they should have germinated and you can now remove the cover and place it on a sunny window sill or under grow lights.

Water for the next 7 to 10 days by either placing a little water in the bottom tub so it soaks up into the top, or directly into the top tub, but be mindful of not overwatering.

We have loads of articles on our microgreens site ( https://jjs.farm ) that might help, and I don't mind answering any of your questions you have, you can use the contact form. We do have a great article about cat grass that you might find useful https://jjs.farm/article/cat-grass-oasis.php

Good luck! Jake